Public Records Law

Information provided to or gathered by the N.C. Forest Service is subject to the N.C. Public Records Law and may be disclosed to third parties upon request.

Government records in North Carolina generally are public in nature. The public policy of the State of North Carolina as established by the General Assembly is to "provide that, as a general rule, the public would have liberal access to public records."

The North Carolina Public Records Law states that public records "shall mean all documents papers, letters, maps, books, photographs, films, sound recordings, magnetic or other tapes, electronic data-processing records, artifacts, or other documentary material, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance in connection with the transaction of public business by any agency of North Carolina or its subdivisions." For information to be confidential, a specific provision must be made in the law.